PROVIDENCE – U.S. corporations reported 791 data breaches between Jan. 1 and June 30, a 29 percent increase over 2016 figures during the same period and a record half-year high, according to a report by CyberScout and the Identity Theft Resource Center.
The ITRC, a national nonprofit organization based in San Diego, projected in the report data breaches could reach 1,500 by the end of 2017, which would represent a 37 percent year-over-year increase compared with 1,093 total breaches in 2016.
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Of the 791 data breaches reported so far in 2017, as many as 530 breach notifications, or 67 percent, failed to include information about the number of records impacted by the breach. While current regulations don’t require businesses to report that information, CyberScout and the ITRC said more accurate information can help industry observers better understand the reach and impact of data breaches.
“Because breaches have become ubiquitous, it is incumbent upon organizations that suffer a compromise to be candid and provide as much information as possible, so that consumers will have the best opportunity to mitigate their personal consequences,” said Adam Levin, chairman of CyberScout, the Providence-based data-defense and security consulting firm that sponsored the report.
“While many businesses don’t necessarily have a handle on the depth and breadth of a breach, they could well be judged by customers, employees, regulators and the courts on how well they protected the information they stored as well as the urgency, transparency and empathy with which they responded once they were aware they had been hacked,” Levin concluded.
Hacking attempts – including phishing, ransomware and malware attacks – were the leading cause of data breaches in the first half of 2017, the report stated.
The business sector has continued to top the list of industries most affected by data breaches, reporting 54.7 percent of the total breaches through June 30, followed by the health care and medical industry at 22.6 percent. The education sector ranked third at 11 percent of the total breaches, while the banking industry came in fourth at 5.8 percent and the government and military came in fifth at 5.6 percent.
“Cyberattacks that target businesses are continuing to rise, as hackers aim to steal the most sensitive personal data and demand payoffs in crippling ransomware attacks,” said Matt Cullina, CEO of CyberScout. “All these trends point to the need for businesses to take steps to manage their risk, prepare for common data-breach scenarios, and get cyber insurance protection.”
Kaylen Auer is a PBN contributing writer.
